Gil Scott-Heron is the artist that opened my teenage white-boy suburban eyes to what was really happening racially in the America of my youth. Using beat poetry, blues, jazz and everything in between he not only laid the groundwork for rap and hip-hop, but continued the truth telling of personal heroes like Lenny Bruce. I have played Gil at every radio station I've worked at and no one was happier than me when he emerged with "I'm New Here." This is not only a huge loss to the music world but yet another warning that it's best to steer clear of the hard stuff, and under no circumstances should you ever do a drug named after a part of your ass! Thank you for your art Gil, may you finally find some peace.
RSS Feed
